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I had my first ever stuck fermentation - blueberry and blackberry wine, using a recipe I've used before, and also started alongside another batch that used a lot of the same fruit but was just fine - so I have no idea what went wrong. It stopped fermenting around 1.050. Anyhow I followed a...

I'm making wine from a kit for the first time in years - I've made many batches of fruit wine though, so I'm familiar with the general process. It's at day 12, and on track to reach 0.998 and proceed to stabilizing and clearing around day 14 as per the instructions. I've followed the...

A local grocery store has Ocean Spray Cranberry and Concord Grape 100% Juice on mega clearance. Has anyone made wine with this specific one before? I'd need about 8 bottles for a 3-gallon batch, and I'd probably need to add more sugar. Should I consider including one or two bottles of something...

Does the temperature of the water affect the action of the potassium metabisulphite when you're assembling ingredients in the primary? I start with frozen fruit in a mesh bag, then add boiling water with the sugar dissolved in it, plus everything else except the pectic enzyme and yeast (those...

First time using potassium sorbate to stabilize - I'm bottling a blackberry & blackcurrant wine and sweetening it slightly to improve the flavour since blackcurrant can be a bit harsh. Research tells me that 1/2 to 3/4 tsp per gallon is usual. However, the package that I bought (the contents...

Hi all - I have a one-gallon batch of banana wine on the go, following the recipe for Banana Wine (2) [Heavy Bodied] that's posted on Jack Keller's site and also in the recipes forum here by Yooper. http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipes.asp After two months in the secondary under airlock...

So far I've mostly made single-fruit wines, but this year I'm experimenting with some two-fruit combinations. I make dry wines with 4-5 lb fruit per gallon, in three-gallon batches. I have a two-thirds peach one-third raspberry in the primary, based on the size of the box of peaches and the...

I just bought more pectic enzyme, and it's a different brand - with a different usage rate on the label. Does anyone know if they make it different strengths, or if it's due to a difference in opinion about how much to use? Both are powders: Spagnols says 1.25 tsp per 23 litres, which is about...

A couple of weeks ago I felt like fermenting something, and it occurred to me that I always wanted to try making ginger wine. So I decided to try this: https://homebrewanswers.com/ginger-wine-recipe/ It includes root ginger, peeled bananas, and raisins. I used EC-1118 yeast. Starting SG after...

Hi all - I have a dandelion wine under airlock that I started 11 months ago, and it's still hazy. The recipe is from Jack Keller's website, and it includes Welch's white grape juice as well as zest and juice of lemons and oranges. I did use pectic enzyme, and have racked it a few times. Last...

Hi all - summer will be here soon so time to plan the next round of fruit wines. Yay! This will be my third time making most of them - blackberry, strawberry, cherry, etc. and always dry. Two years ago I followed recipes calling for 3-4.5 lb of fruit per gallon. Last year I increased to 5-6 lb...

I started a batch of raspberry wine in early August, and just racked it for the second time in mid November. It's an odd-sized batch that should yield 8-9 bottles. Here's the ingredients, with starting SG of 1.092: 4.25 kg raspberries from my garden 2 kg sugar 4.9 litres water K meta...

It's peach season! So I'm going to start my first peach wine using Jack Keller's "Peach and Banana Wine" recipe. The recipe calls for adding the sugar incrementally - half at the beginning, a quarter when transferring to the secondary, and the rest after a further five days. So far with...

Does anyone have experience with wine that's been stored in less-than-ideal conditions after bottling? I started a batch of blueberry wine (using fruit) 14 months ago, and bottled it 5 months ago. I kept half the bottles and gave the other half to the friend who provided the fruit. My half...

I have a three-gallon batch of Strawberry wine that I started last June, from fruit (not a kit). So it's now been nine months, including three rackings, and it was almost clear but not quite - looked nice, but flashlight beam still visible. I used pectic enzyme at the start. Six days ago I...

Happy New Year winemakers everywhere! Has anyone ever made greengage wine and can tell me what colour it should (or should not) be? We were lucky enough to score some free greengages last summer, so I started a three-gallon batch of wine. I used this "Versatile Plum Wine" recipe...

I started 3 gallons of blackberry wine in late July, and it developed a strong rotten-egg smell in the primary (I used K1-V1116 plus 4 tsp yeast nutrient). Stirring got rid of most of the smell, so I moved it to the carboy. Two months later I racked and got a strong smell as soon as the...